How powerful was Pradyuman in the Mahabharata?

 Pradyumna was eldest son of Shri Krishna and Mata Rukmini. He was Incarcation of Sanathakumara as well as Kamadeva . He was one of the most powerful warriors of Dwarapar yuga .Pradyumna was eldest Son of Shri Krishna and Mata Rukmini who was lakshmi herself and his first wife. He was abducted by demon Sambara 7 days after his birth and threw into ocean. He was then swallowed by Fish and when fish was caught and cut open he was found in sambara's house. He was given to Mayawati who was cook in Samabara's house but was Rati wife of kamadeva in disguise.

Let's come to his power and feats.

1. Pradyumna killed the all Sons of Sambara in battle.

Krishna's son too, worked up with anger, struck them in the battle each with five arrows shot off his bow. Thereupon those resolute Asuras, exceedingly wroth, set up a net-work of weapons for killing Pradyumna. There at worked up with anger Ananga soon took up his bow .He then killed the ten highly powerful sons of Shamvara.The next moment, filled with anger the powerful son of Keshava soon cut off Chitrasena's head with a Bhalla. There upon the remaining sons of Shamvara, anxious to fight, began to run taking up and discharging arrows. And for killing Ananga they all unitedly fought and shot arrows. The highly powerful son of Krishna, on the other hand, cut off their heads, as if in sport. Having thus slain one hundred sons of Shamvara, all good bow men, he stood in the battle field desirous of fighting.

2. Pradyumna was one of the warriors who possesed The Rare powerful Vaishnavastra of Shri Hari Vishnu. He slayed demon sambara with vaishnavastra. Narada gave him vaishnavastra on orders of Indra taking it from him.

Thereupon informed of his motive the king of gods said to Närada —“Do you soon approach the car of the large armed Pradyumna, make him conscious and remind him of his pristine birth. Give that of slayer of Asura this invincible coat of mail and Vaishnava weapons.”

Thereupon bending his bow and setting to it the Vaishnava arrow which Närada had brought, Keshava's son said:-“O arrow, if I am the son of Rukshmini begotten by Keshava do thou, on the strength of this truth, kill Shamvara in the battle-field.” Saying this the noble-minded Pradyumna, as if to consume the three worlds, drew his bow and shot the arrow at Shamvara. Thereupon that arrow, discharged by that Vrishni chief, piercing Shamvara's breast, entered into the earth. By the energy of that Vaishnava arrow all his flesh, bones, nerves, skull and blood were reduced to ashes.

3. Pradyumna was one of the few warriors who knew complete secret of chakravyuha.

Addressing Abhimanyu, that slayer of hostile heroes, who was not inferior to Vasudeva himself and whose energy was superior to that of Arjuna, the king said, 'O child, act in such a way that Arjuna, returning (from the Samsaptakas), may not reprove us. We do not know how to break the circular array. Thyself, or Arjuna or Krishna, or Pradyumna, can pierce that array. O mighty-armed one, no fifth person can be found (to achieve that teat).

4. Arjuna said he trusts only Pradyumna and Satyaki for protection of Yudhisthira.

Making over the monarch to thee, O mighty-armed one, or to that great car-warrior Pradyumna, I can go with an easy heart towards Jayadratha.

5. Pradyumna was Guru to Abhimanyu as well as Upapandavas in Dwarka.

And, O Krishna, as Rukmini's son is the preceptor of Aniruddha, of Abhimanyu, of Sunitha, and of Bhanu; so he is the preceptor and the refuge of your sons also! And a good preceptor, would unceasingly give them lessons in the wielding of maces and swords and bucklers, in missiles and in the arts of driving cars and of riding horses, being valiant. And he, the son of Rukmini, having bestowed a very good training upon them, and having taught them the art of using various weapons in a proper way, takes satisfaction at the valorous deeds of your sons, and of Abhimanyu.

6. Pradyumna's only arrows were powerful enough to defeat like of Kripa and karna and drona.

Kripa and Drona and Vikarna and Kama are not able to bear the keen arrows shot by Pradyumna.

7. Pradyumna accompanied Krishna and Balrama in banasur battle and defeated Lord Kartikeya in battle.

Kārtikeya was so strongly beaten by Pradyumna that he fled the battlefield, while the remnants of Bāṇāsura’s army, harried by the blows of Lord Balarāma’s club, scattered in all directions.

8. Pradyumna was a great illusionist. He had repulsed and destroyed strong illusions of Sambara and Shalva .

Sources:-

Harivamsa Chapter CCLII

Harivamsa Chapter CCLIII

Harivamsa Chapter CCLIV

Drona Parva: Abhimanyu-badha Parva: Section XXXIII

Drona Parva: Jayadratha-Vadha Parva: Section CX

Vana Parva: Markandeya-Samasya Parva: Section CLXXXII

Vana Parva: Tirtha-yatra Parva: Section CXX

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Image's courtesy:- Internet.

Who was Alambusa, in Mahabharata?

Ālambuśa was a great Rakshasha warrior of Kauravas , relative of Bakasura , he was an enemy of Bhimasena .

Ālambuśa feats :-

• Ālambuśa killed Iravan and his Naga supporters :

He roared like a lion and advanced to where Arjuna’s young son was. He was surrounded by his own soldiers, who were brave and armed. They were accomplished in fighting, were astride mounts and were armed with polished lances. He wished to kill the immensely powerful Iravat in battle. The valiant and swift Iravat was enraged. The slayer of enemies countered the rakshasa who was seeking his death. On seeing that he was descending on him, the extremely powerful rakshasa swiftly resorted to his powers of maya. He created a large number of illusory horses. They were ridden by terrible rakshasas, who wielded spears and javelins. Two thousand of these armed ones angrily advanced. The two sides clashed and quickly sent each other to the land of the dead. When the soldiers on both sides had been killed, the two of them, invincible in battle, attacked each other in that encounter, like Vritra against Vasava. On seeing the rakshasa, invincible in battle, advance against him, the extremely strong Iravat was enraged and attacked him. When the evil-minded one approached close, he used his sword to slice off his blazing sword and shattered his shield into five parts. On seeing that the bow had been severed, he quickly resorted to the sky and angrily confounded Iravat with his maya. But Iravat also rose up into the sky and confounded the rakshasa with his own maya. He was invincible too and could assume any form at will. He knew about the body’s inner organs and pierced his body with his arrows. O great king! The foremost among rakshasas was repeatedly wounded through these arrows, but he became hale again and regained his youth. Maya is natural to them, and according to their wishes, so are energy, age and beauty. Thus, though the rakshasa’s limbs were repeatedly mangled, they healed. Iravat used his sharp battle axe to repeatedly slice angrily at the immensely strong rakshasa. That brave and powerful rakshasa was repeatedly sliced like a tree and roared terribly, making a tumultuous sound. Wounded by the battle-axe, the rakshasa began to profusely shed blood. The powerful one became enraged and continued to battle forcefully. On seeing that the enemy was so energetic in the battle, Rishyashringa’s son assumed an extremely terrible and gigantic form. While everyone looked on, he tried to grasp him in the forefront of that battle. But seeing this maya employed by the great-souled rakshasa, Iravat angrily created his own maya. He was overcome by anger and he was one who never retreated from battle. O king! His mother’s relatives approached him and he was surrounded by many nagas in that battle, assuming a great form like Bhogavat. The rakshasa was enveloped by many kinds of nagas. Enveloped by those nagas, that bull among rakshasas thought and assumed the form of Suparna, so that he could devour the nagas. On seeing that his mother’s relatives were devoured through maya, Iravat was confused. And the rakshasa killed him with his sword. Iravat’s head was adorned with earrings and a diadem and was as radiant as a lotus or the moon. The rakshasa made it fall down on the ground.

• Chapter 946(86) , Bhishma-Vadha Parva , Bhishma Parva .
• Ālambuśa trashed the Pandava Army :

Stationing himself at a short distance, he started to drive away the soldiers. In that battle, he killed the great army of the Pandavas. The rakshasa attacked them in the encounter, like Bali against the army of the gods. O venerable one! There was great oppression and slaughter among those soldiers. The rakshasa, terrible in form, killed them in that battle. He released thousands of arrows on the great army of the Pandavas. The rakshasa displayed his valour and drove them back in that battle. Thus slaughtered by the rakshasa, terrible in form, the army of the Pandavas was frightened and fled from the field of battle. He crushed those soldiers, like an elephant amidst lotuses.

• Chapter 956(96) , Bhishma-Vadha Parva , Bhishma Parva .
• Ālambuśa defeated five Upapandavas :

In that encounter, the immensely strong one then attacked the sons of Droupadi. The great archers who were Droupadi’s sons were armoured and became wrathful. All of them advanced against the rakshasa, like five planets against the sun. Prativindhya swiftly pierced the immensely strong rakshasa with sharp, vigorous and iron arrows. They penetrated his armour and the supreme among rakshasas looked resplendent. He was like a giant mass of rain clouds, penetrated by the rays of the sun. O king! He was struck by arrows that were embellished with gold and Rishyashringa’s son looked like a mountain with a flaming summit. In that great battle, the five brothers pierced the Indra among rakshasas with sharp arrows that were embellished with gold. O king! Pierced by terrible arrows that were like angry snakes, Alambusha became as angry as a king of elephants. O great king! O venerable one! He was pierced within a short instant. Having been wounded, the maharatha remained unconscious for a long time. When he regained consciousness, in his rage, he increased his dimensions to double of what they were. He sliced down their arrows, standards and bows. As if smiling, he pierced each of them with three arrows. Maharatha Alambusa seemed to be dancing around on his chariot. The rakshasa was angry and in his rage, the immensely strong one killed the horses and the charioteers of the great-souled ones. In great delight, he again pierced them with extremely sharp arrows. He used many different kinds of arrows, in hundreds and thousands. Those great archers were bereft of their chariots by the rakshasa and the traveller of the night swiftly rushed against them, wishing to kill them. On seeing them thus oppressed in battle by the evil-souled rakshasa, Arjuna’s son attacked the rakshasa in that battle. The battle that commenced was like that between Vritra and Vasava. All those on your side and the maharatha Pandavas witnessed it.

• Chapter 956(96) , Bhishma-Vadha Parva , Bhishma Parva .
• Ālambuśa killed 700 Rathas following Bhima and knocked him down unconscious :

All the beings were astounded and delighted at the battle between the man and the rakshasa. O king! Bhima laughed and pierced Rishyashringa’s intolerant son, Indra among rakshasas, with nine sharp arrows. Pierced in the battle, the rakshasa let out a mighty roar and he and his followers attacked Bhima. He pierced Bhima with five arrows that had drooping tufts. In that battle, the scorcher of enemies quickly destroyed three hundred rathas who were following Bhima. He slew four hundred more and pierced Bhima with arrows. Having been thus pierced by the immensely strong rakshasa, Bhima sat down on the floor of his chariot. He lost his senses. When he recovered his senses, the son of the wind god was overcome by great rage.

• Chapter 1060(83) , Jayadratha-Vadha Parva , Drona Parva .
• Ālambuśa caused carnage in Pandava ranks —— Panchalas , Srynjayas and Chedis :

‘O Partha! Wait for a while in this battle and witness my valour today. O extremely evil one! The powerful Baka, supreme among rakshasas, was my brother. It is true that you killed him, but that happened when I did not see it.’ Having thus spoken to Bhima, he disappeared and enveloped him with a great and severe shower of arrows. O king! When the rakshasa became invisible in that battle, Bhima covered the sky with his straight-tufted arrows. Thus struck by Bhima, he instantly returned to his chariot. He entered deep inside the earth and suddenly rose up into the sky. He adopted many different kinds of forms, some large and some small. From above, he showered down many different kinds of words in every direction. Many Pandava soldiers died. O king! So did fighting elephants, many horses and foot soldiers. Because of those arrows, rathas were brought down in their chariots. A river of blood began to flow and the chariots were eddies. It was infested by crocodiles in the form of elephants. The umbrellas were the swans. It was full of mud. The arms were like serpents. That river began to flow and was populated by large numbers of rakshasas. O king! It flowed and bore along many Chedis, Panchalas and Srinjayas. O king! Thus did he fearlessly roam around in that battle. The Pandavas became extremely anxious at witnessing his valour. The hearts of your soldiers became full of joy. Musical instruments were sounded in fierce and extremely loud tones and this made the body hair stand up. On hearing the terrible sound emitted by your soldiers, the Pandavas could not tolerate it, just as a snake cannot bear the slapping of palms.

• Chapter 1060(83) , Jayadratha-Vadha Parva , Drona Parva .

Jai Sri Krsna .

Why did Lord Krishna leave Arjuna after the war of Mahabharata?

 Krishna stayed in Hastinapura with the Pandavas for a long time after the Kurukshetra war.

Vaishampayana replied, ‘O lord of the earth! Having conquered the kingdom, the Pandaveyas were tranquil. Vasudeva and Dhananjaya were delighted. They sported in pleasure, like the lord of the gods in heaven. They progressively sported in colourful groves, the slopes of mountains, colourful valleys, lakes and rivers. They were like the two Ashvins in Nandana. The great-souled Krishna and Pandava found pleasure in Indraprastha. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They entered the assembly hall and sported there. O king! They conversed and recounted the colourful stories of the war and tales of the hardships. They spoke about the lineages of the rishis and the gods. Those great-souled ones, the ancient and excellent rishis, were delighted.

• 15, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

Krishna then briefly returned to Dwaraka. He returned soon after during which he brought Parikshit back to life. After that Krishna remained in Hastinapura during Yudhishtira's Ashwamedha Yajna.

These are the last descriptions of Krishna with the Pandavas

Delighted, the maharathas gave him large amounts of riches. In that way, the king (Yudhishtira) humbly presented himself before Krishna, the wielder of the chakra and the gada, like Pradyumna presenting himself before Govinda. Krishna honoured the king and gave him an extremely expensive chariot that was decorated with gold and was yoked to divine and supreme horses. Dharmaraja, Bhima, the twins and Phalguna separately honoured the one who deserved to be shown respect.

• 90, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

However, he (Vyasa) again said, “You gave it to me. But I am giving it back to you. Give gold to the brahmanas and let the earth be yours.” Vasudeva then spoke to Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. “You should act as the illustrious Vyasa has said.” ‘Thus addressed, the best of the Kuru lineage and his brothers were delighted in their minds. They gave away crores and crores of coins, so that it was three times the normal dakshina at a sacrifice.

• 91, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

After the Ashwamedha was completed, Yudhishtira was firmly in power in Kuru kingdom. Krishna's purpose with the Pandavas was over and so he returned to Dwaraka. There is no further description of Krishna ever meeting the Pandavas again.

Who were slain by Sahadeva in the Mahabharata?

 

Sahadeva in my opinion is an extremely underrated man . He was a great warrior who had killed that very man who was responsible for the wicked act of Dyuta-Sabha , Shakuni .

Sahadeva was the only one among Pandavas who wanted war for the sake of Draupadi :

What the king has said is eternal dharma. O scorcher of enemies! But you should act in such a way that there is war. O Dasharha! Even if the Kurus wish for peace with the Pandavas, you should provoke them to war. On having seen Panchali molested in the assembly hall, how can my anger towards Suyodhana be pacified without him being killed? O Krishna! If Bhima, Arjuna and Dharmaraja wish to stick to dharma, I will give up dharma and wish to fight them in battle.

• Chapter 742(79) , Bhagwan-Yana Parva , Udyoga Parva .

Warriors he killed :-

• On 3rd day , Yudhisthira , Nakula and Sahadeva killed many warriors from Drona’s army :

In the sight of all the soldiers, the king who was Dharma’s son and the Pandavas who were Madri’s sons began to oppress Drona’s army.

• Chapter 914(54) , Bhishma-Vadha Parva , Bhishma Parva .
• On 9th day , Yudhisthira , Nakula and Shadeva destroyed Shakuni’s horse-cavalry :

Subala’s son had many hundreds and thousands of horses. The riders had polished spears and wielded swords and spikes. They were proud and extremely swift. This was a force with standards. These supreme among men were trained and skilled in battle. They surrounded Nakula, Sahadeva and Pandava Dharmaraja from every direction and repulsed those best of men. King Duryodhana sent ten thousand brave horseriders to restrain the Pandavas. They penetrated with great force, like Garudas advancing to do battle. O king! The earth was struck with the hooves and trembled because of the sound. A great noise from the hooves of the horses could be heard then. It was like a large forest of bamboos being burnt on a mountain. As they advanced there, a great cloud of dust arose. It rose up into the path of the sun and shrouded the sun. The army of the Pandavas was agitated because of the force of these horses, as if a flock of swans had descended onto a large lake with great force. Nothing could be heard because of the sounds of neighing.

O great king! In that battle, King Yudhishthira and the Pandavas who were Madri’s sons spiritedly checked the force of those horse-riders, like the shoreline checks the forceful waves of the great ocean on the night of the full moon, when the waters are full because of the rains. O king! The rathas used straight-tufted arrows to sever the heads of the horseriders from their bodies. O great king! They were slain and brought down by those who wielded firm bows. It was like elephants killed by mighty elephants and hurled into mountainous caverns. They roamed around in the ten directions and used extremely sharp javelins and straight-tufted arrows to slice off the heads. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The horse-riders were struck by swords. Their heads fell down, like fruit from large trees. O king! Horses and their riders were seen to be slain there. They fell down and were falling down, in hundreds and thousands. Having been thus slaughtered, the horses were overcome by fear and fled. It was like deer trying to protect their lives at the arrival of a lion. O great king! In that great battle, the Pandavas vanquished the enemy. Having driven the enemy away in the battle, they blew on their conch shells and sounded their drums.

• Chapter 961(101) , Bhishma-Vadha Parva , Bhishma Parva .
• On 14th day , Sahadeva slayed Nirmitra , King of Trigarta :

O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O king! With his horses slain, Durmukha was distressed. He abandoned his chariot and climbed onto Niramitra’s chariot. In that great battle, in the midst of those soldiers, Sahadeva, the destroyer of enemy heroes, used a broad-headed arrow to angrily slay Niramitra. Niramitra, the lord of men and the son of the king of Trigarta, fell down from the seat of his chariot and this caused sorrow to your forces. Having killed him, mighty-armed Sahadeva roamed around, like Rama, Dasharatha’s son, after having killed the immensely strong Khara. O lord of men! On seeing that the immensely strong Prince Niramitra had been slain, great sounds of lamentation arose among the Trigartas.

• Chapter 1059(82) , Jayadratha-Vadha Parva , Drona Parva .
• On 14th night , Sahadeva , Nakula and Satyaki killed Alayudha’s Rakshashas warriors :

Alayudha’s warriors were rakshasas, terrible in form. Those brave ones grasped their bows and arrows and descended with force. As they advanced with their weapons, maharatha Yuyudhana, Nakula and Sahadeva cut them down with sharp arrows.

• Chapter 1130(153) , Ghatotkacha-Vadha Parva , Drona Parva .
• On 16th day , Sahadeva killed Pundra’s elephant :

Pundra’s elephant was descending like a mobile mountain. Sahadeva carefully killed it with three iron arrows. It was deprived of its flag, its rider, its armour, its standard and its life.

• Chapter 1167(17) , Karna-Vadha Parva , Karna Parva .
• On 16th day , Sahadeva killed eight more elephants with their riders :

The tusks were pierced by iron arrows and seemed to be ornamented. Sahadeva quickly killed eight giant elephants with sixty-four extremely energetic arrows and brought them down, together with their riders.

• Chapter 1167(17) , Karna-Vadha Parva , Karna Parva .
• On 16th day , Sahadeva killed many warriors of Kaurava Army after defeating Dushashana :

O king! Your maharatha son lost his senses. On seeing that he had lost his consciousness, his charioteer, who was frightened and himself severely wounded with sharp arrows, quickly bore him away on the chariot. O Pandu’s elder brother! O king! Having defeated him in the battle, Pandava cheerfully began to crush Duryodhana’s army in every direction, like an extremely angry man crushing a large number of ants. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Thus did he wrathfully crush the Kourava soldiers.

• Chapter 1167(17) , Karna-Vadha Parva , Karna Parva .
• On 18th day , Sahadeva killed Shalya’s son :

In his sight, the king of Madra slew Sahadeva’s horses. At this, Sahadeva killed Shalya’s son with his sword.

• Chapter 1229(10) , Shalya-Vadha Parva , Shalya Parva .
• On 18th day , Sahadeva killed Uluka , Shakuni’s son :

O great king! The brave and powerful Sahadeva used a broad-headed arrow to sever and bring down Uluka’s head. He was slain by Sahadeva and fell down from his chariot onto the ground. His limbs were covered with blood and the Pandava warriors were delighted. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that his son had been killed there, Shakuni’s voice choked with tears.

• Chapter 1246(27) , Hrada-Pravesha Parva , Shalya Parva .
• On 18th day , Sahadeva killed Shakuni :

Having thought for some time, with his eyes full of tears, he sighed and, approaching Sahadeva, he pierced him with three arrows. O great king! Countering the large number of arrows with his own arrows, the powerful Sahadeva severed his bow in the battle. O Indra among kings! When his bow was severed, Shakuni Soubala grasped a large sword and hurled it towards Sahadeva. O lord of the earth! It descended violently, terrible in form. But smilingly, he severed Soubala’s sword into two fragments in the encounter. When the sword was shattered into two fragments, he grasped a mighty club and hurled it towards Sahadeva. Though invincible, it too fell down on the ground. The angry Soubala then hurled an extremely terrible javelin towards Pandava. It was like the night of destruction. It descended violently in the encounter. However, Sahadeva seemed to smile. He used golddecorated arrows to slice it into three fragments. Shattered into three fragments and decorated with gold, it fell down on the ground. It was as if blazing thunder had fallen from the sky, with flashes of lightning. On seing that the javelin had been destroyed, Soubala was overcome with fear. Because of their fright, all those on your side fled, and this included Soubala. The Pandavas, hoping for victory, roared loudly in delight. Almost all those on the side of the sons of Dhritarashtra retreated. On seeing that they were distressed, Madri’s powerful son restrained them with thousands of arrows in the battle.

Sahadeva approached Soubala from the rear. He was still hoping for victory, though he was running away from the battle and was protected by those from Gandhara. O king! He remembered that Shakuni, his share, was still left. Sahadeva pursued him on a chariot that was decorated with gold. He strung his large bow and repeatedly twanged it. He pursued Soubala and struck him with arrows that had been sharpened on stone and shafted with feathers of vultures. In rage, he struck him severely, like a mighty elephant being struck with a goad. Having struck him, the intelligent one addressed him, as if reminding him. ‘Resort to the dharma of kshatriyas. Be a man and fight. O stupid one! You rejoiced a lot in the assembly hall. O evil-minded one! You will receive the fruits of that action now. All the evil-souled ones who disrespected us in earlier times have been killed. Duryodhana, who brings ill fame to his lineage, is the only one that is left, and his maternal uncle. I will slay you and slice off your head with a razor-sharp arrow today. It will be like plucking fruit from a tree with a stick.’ O great king! O tiger among men! Having said this, the immensely strong Sahadeva attacked him with great force. The invincible Sahadeva, the lord of warriors, attacked him. He seemed to be smiling, as he stretched his bow with great force and rage. He pierced Shakuni with ten arrows and his horses with four. He severed his umbrella, standard and bow and roared like a lion. Soubala’s standard, bow and umbrella were severed by Sahadeva and he was pierced in all his inner organs by many arrows. O great king! Then, the powerful Sahadeva again shot a shower of invincible arrows towards Shakuni. Angrily, Subala’s son rushed towards Madri’s son, Sahadeva. He wished to kill him with a javelin that was decorated with gold. In the forefront of that battle, as he rushed swiftly ahead, Madri’s son severed the upraised javelin and the two well-rounded arms with three broad-headed arrows. Having spiritedly severed them, he roared. Acting swiftly, he then used a broad-headed arrow that was gold-tufted and was capable of penetrating all armour. It was firm and was made out of iron. Aiming this well and with force, he severed his head from his body. That arrow was decorated with gold. It was extremely sharp and was as radiant as the sun. In the battle, Pandava used that to sever the head of Subala’s son and he fell down on the ground. The arrow was gold-tufted and had been sharpened on stone and Pandu’s enraged son powerfully severed the head with this. He was the root of all the bad conduct of the Kurus. With the head severed, Shakuni was seen to lie down on the ground. His body was wet with blood.

• Chapter 1246(27) , Hrada-Pravesha Parva , Shalya Parva .

Jai Sri Krsna .

​Why did Karna refuse to join the Pandavas even after Krishna revealed he was the eldest brother?

 The Krishna-karna conversation in Udyoga parva might be interpolated. Therefore let's look at Karna's conversation with Kunti to see his reasoning.

Karna says that people will think that he switched sides because he is afraid of Arjuna

Who does not suffer when Dhananjaya is aided by Krsna? If I now go over to the Parthas, who will not think that I am frightened?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

Karna says that he can't abandon the Kauravas suddenly after they have given everything to him and after he had given them hopes of victory

The sons of Dhritarashtra have given me a share in every object of desire. They have honoured me and given me every kind of happiness. How can I act counter to that now?They have always served me and have always bowed down before me, like the Vasus before Vasava. They now confront a feud with an enemy. They think that with my life, they can withstand the enemies. How can I act against the desire that is there in their minds?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

So his two reasons were -

A. Fear of being called a coward.

B. Wanting to repay the Kauravas for their helps.